Recent News

Exciting news: there have been big improvements in results in the early years and Key Stage 1 results from Suffolk schools – the number of our three to seven year olds achieving expected levels of attainment has risen significantly. Congratulations to the schools concerned – the teaching staff and governors, the children and a big…

I am possibly missing the point with the enthusiasm of the Lib Dems and Labour for the introduction of the so called mansion tax…But I can’t help thinking: why on earth would anybody want to go to all the effort and expense of defining and refining a new tax measure when the mechanism already exists and pretty much…

I was sorry to miss the annual autumn clear up at Stansfield Village Hall this year but saw at a glance on my latest visit just what great efforts had been made in chopping down vegetation, hacking and clearing the undergrowth and opening up the entrance to make it safer. All the parishes in this…

Suffolk’s campaign to merge police, fire and even ambulance stations – saving money and improving collboration across the emergency services into the bargain – has had a major boost with the award of a £4.9m grant. It has been made as a result of the submission of a joint-bid, led by SCC’s Fire and Rescue Service, earlier…

Three hours scraping ivy off the front face of the platforms, while avoiding damaging the rare ferns, at the old railway station in Clare allows plenty of time to reflect. A very strong and diverse quartet has been chosen for the shortlist for the Bury St Edmunds seat – good luck to them all Jo Churchill,…

Looking forward to my first volunteering session at Clare Country Park on Sunday. I am delighted that the country park is transferring to the control and care of the people of Clare who will nurture it and cherish it. It is one of my biggest regrets as a councillor that the park was allowed to…

PUBLIC MEETING FOR RESIDENTS OF THE CLARE AREA ON HIGHSPEED BROADBAND Stansfield Village Hall, CO10 8 LP at 7pm Monday 17 November SCC Cabinet this week agreed to a new £10million contribution to phase two of the plan to secure high-speed broadband across Suffolk. Procurement for this next stage should be completed by the end…

We had not just one but two chairmen of Local Enterprise Partnerships speaking at the West Suffolk Conservatives’ Business Breakfast Club on Friday at Haverhill Golf Club. Mark Pendlington, who chairs the New Anglia LEP, was the guest speaker but we also had the benefit of input from club member, Mark Reeve, who chairs the…

We have been busy planning the launch in January of the new Suffolk Transport Forum with discussions of who to invite and what topics to highlight at our launch conference. Hospital transport can be a major problem – in many places the lack of good transport links leads to over crowding in the hospital car…